Straight bar knitting machine



.Get. 4, E938. G. TAYLOR 2,132,135

I STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed July so, 1936 5 Shee ts-Sheet 1 wwewmz 32 v J. 5r

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6i. 4, 1938.- TAYLQR Z,l32,135

STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed July so, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Gcfi. 4, 1938; e. TAYLOR 291329135 STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed July so, 1936 5 sheets-sneak s Q wW/M ma; 4, W38. G, TAYLOR 2332 135 STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed July 30, 1936 '5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Arr-0,014?

Oct. 4, 1938. c;. TAYLOR 2,132,135

STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed July so, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 40b 40a 4&2: 7

g 2 Wrap/$2 M Patented Oct. 4, 1938 UNITED STATES 2,133,135 srmren'r BAR KNITTING moms George Taylor, Daybrook, Arnold, Nottingham, England, assignor to Allen, Solly & Company, Limited, Nottingham, England Application July 30, 1936, Serial No. 93,452 InGreat Britain July 31, 1935 16 Claims.

This invention comprises improvements in straight bar knitting machines and in the production of fabricor articles thereon, the invention having more particular reference to rib knitting machines. The term straight bar knitting machine as used in this application refers to a machine in which a line of needles is fixed to a support termed a needle bar for movement in unison, for example, as in machines of the Cotton type. By the expression straight bar i'ib machine is meant one which has two such lines'of needles for drawing loops in opposed directions.

Heretofore in the production of hose on the aforesaid type of rib knitting machine it has been customary to knit a blank incorporating the leg or panel and instep along with portions of the heel on said machine and subsequentlytransfer the blank to a footing machine for the production and attachment of plain (non-rib) heel and toe 20 portions and foot sole; and it is an important object of the present invention to obviate the necessity of employing a footing machine for making plain heels and toes and to enable rib knitted hose with plain (non-rib) heels andtoes to be produced on one machine by .one and the same knitting process, thereby considerably expediting and cheapening the production of such hose.

Broadly, therefore, the present invention resides in the provision of a rib knitting machine of the straight bar type incorporating means for changing at will from the production of rib fabric to the production of plain (non-rib) fabric or vice versa,

In straight bar rib knitting machines stitch production is effected by relative movement between the needles and other elements of the machine, and the invention, therefore, includes a straight bar, rib knitting machine having elements movable in relation to the needles in the production of knitted stitches, and means for efiecting differing relative movements between said elements and two simultaneously-knitting groups of needles whereby one group produces rib fabric and the other plain fabric;

The present invention provides a straight bar rib knitting machine having means whereby at predetermined times the needles appertaining to one needle bar or to a predetermined section or sections of said her are rendered inoperative as stitch-forming elements and the stitches previ-- ously produced on said needles are transferred to the needles of the other bar and knitting is continued on said lastnamed needles. By this means, the stitch production can, at any predetermined (or 66-38) I time and'at a predetermined part or parts ofthe full width of the fabric being produced, be changed from rib to plain or vice versa, and this enables hose blanks having rib knitted panels and insteps and plain knitted heel and toe portions to be knitted in one process on the same machine. Insomuch as this invention embodies a process of knitting on a straight bar rib machine a hose blank consisting of leg or panel and instep or foot portion of rib fabric and heel and toe portions (and if desired the sole also) of plain (non-rib) fabric, it will be appreciated that a subsidiary feature of the invention is the provision of means for knitting rib fabric on a group of the needles and for knitting plain fabric simultaneously on a contiguous group. Thus plainfabric may be knitted on the heel needles simultaneously with knitting of rib fabric on the instep needles located between them. Moreover means are provided whereby the two groups knit the same kind of fabric for a predetermined number of courses (as in the leg or panel) and one of them, knits rib and the other plain fabric for other courses (as in the instep and heel).

As is well known, on a straight bar rib knitting machine it is customary to employ two sets or rows of needles (frame and machine needles) operating at an angle to each other-so as to draw stitch loops indifferent directions, and in the production of rib fabric other than 1/ l rib certain of the frame needles are provided with long beards and the remainder with short beards, the arrangement and distribution of said long and short beards determining the type of rib produced. Desirably the machine according to the present invention is provided with means for causing needles of one needle bar or set or of a section or sections thereof, during a predetermined number of courses, to cast off the thread fed to them without knitting it, while the opposing needles of the other bar or set knit, and means for causing said needles of both sets to knit at other courses in the-production of ribbed fabric. Therefore means may be provided for effecting differing pressing motions according to whether rib or plain fabric is to be produced.

The invention is equally applicable to straight the present invention, of rib knitted fabric having plain toe and heel portions in one process on a straight bar machine of either of the two types above-mentioned, it is necessary that means are provided whereby the pressing of the needles of the frame needle bar can be separately controlled for three sections of said bar, i. e. the central or instep section and the two side or heeling sections, so that while rib knitted fabric is being produced on the instep section, plain fabric can be simultaneously produced on the heel sections, and also to enable either rib or plain fabric to be produced on the instep section; and it will be appreciated that the means employed for effecting this separate control of the pressing of the needle groups necessarily differs in accordance with the type of machine on which the knitting is to be effected.

In a machine of the English type according to this invention the differing pressing motions (according to whether rib or plain fabric is to be produced) are imparted to the needle bar or sections thereof. In machines of the German type according to this invention they are imparted to the presser bar or sections thereof. In a machine equipped with short bearded needles interspersed with long bearded needles in one needle bar this permits the short bearded needles to knit in the production of plain fabric but to be rendered inoperative in the production of rib fabric.

When the machine is equipped with a divided needle bar means are provided for imparting differing motions to its several sections, and when the machine is provided with a divided movable presser bar differing pressing motions are imparted to its several sections. Moreover means may be provided for imparting said differing motions simultaneously to the several sections, so that rib fabric is produced on the needles appertaining to one section simultaneously with the production of plain fabric on the needles appertaining to another section. Furthermore the said differing motions may at different times be imparted to one and the same section whereby the needles appertaining to that section produce rib fabric at one time and plain fabric at another.

More specifically in the case of a machine equipped with long bearded and short bearded needles as hereinbefore referred to, there may be means causing the short bearded needles to press with the long bearded needles in the production of plain fabric, but for delaying their pressing until after the opposing needles have pressed in the production of rib fabric. Therefore the machinery may be equipped with two alternative presser cams and with means for changing over from one to the other.

In order that the invention may be better understood reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows diagrammatically the set-out of the machine and frame needles of a straightbar machine for the production of six and three rib.

of an English straight-bar machine according to this invention.

Figure 3 is an elevation looking in the direction of the arrow 3 in- Figure 2, of certain of these parts.

Figures 4 to 12 inclusive show the stages in the change over from rib to plain knitting in an English machine according to this invention.

Figure 2 is an elevation of the relevant parts Figures 17 and 18 illustrate an arrangement and operation of the frame needles, utilized in the change-over between plain and rib fabric, to obviate the necessity for a divided needlebar or presser.

In the production of ribbed fabric other than 1/1 rib on a straight-bar knitting machine it is customary to employ a full set of frame needles, some of'which are provided with long beards and some with short beards. Thus referring to Figure 1 in which the needle arrangement forsix and three rib is illustrated the frame needles ID are arranged in groups of six long bearded needles llla alternating with groups of two short bearded needles I llb. The machine needles are indicated at ii and opposite the intervals between the long bearded frame needles there are arranged five dummy machine needles Ila (which are in effect needle shanks without beards) and opposite the intervals between the short bearded frame needles ldb and between said needles and the adjacent long bearded n'eedles Ilia there are arranged three bearded machine needles Mb. The thread is laid by a yarn guide 52 across the frame needles Ill and is sunk and divided by sinkers l3. Thereafter the frame needle bar M descends to draw the new loops down over the sinker nibs and is rocked forward suficiently by a. cam I511 to press the'long bearded needles llla against the fixed presser bar it so that the previously-formed loops are cleared onto the beards. The short bearded frame needles lllb are hot pressed, however, until after the loops have been taken under the beards of the machine needles lib and the latter pressed on the underside of the presser bar it. Thereupon the frame needle bar moves. forward again so that the short bearded needles lll are pressed and the sinker loops that extend over them between the machine needles llb are cast off. The beardless machine needles Naand the short bearded frame needles Nib therefore merely act as dummies and six and three rib is produced.

In applying this invention to the manufacture of a blank for a full fashioned stocking, sock or the like as illustrated in Figure 16 this process is continued until the line 20 at the commencement of the heels is reached, splicing being previously inserted if desired from the diagonal line 2|. A change over from rib to plain fabric is thereupon effected on the groups of needles that knit the heel tabs 22. In effecting this change over all the machine needles llb in said groups are rendered inoperative and the lastformed loops of the rib fabric on them are transferred to the corresponding frame needles on which plain knitting is continued. It is to be machine needles to the frame needles, and are not released from the machine needles until such time as the frame needles have been operated to form stitches from said transferred loops.

- This stage is shown in Figure 5, and thereafter,

when the machine is started again, the frame needles rise to clear the transferred loops below the'beards. At the next course thread is laid across the frame needles and above the machine needles by the guide l2, and the sinkers l3 sink and divide the thread into loops as shown in Figure 6. The frame needle bar 14 descends and moves towards the presser l6 and presses first the long bearded frame needles llla and then the short bearded ones lllb. After both kinds of frame needles have been pressed (Figures 7 and 8) the frame needle bar descends still further to pull the stitches down (Fig. 9) through the old loops and draw loops of thread over the shanks of the machine needles, and when the frame needle bar has moved forward slightly but not far enough to carry the loops of thread on the machine needles to the landing position the machine needles I lb (which act as dummies) are pressed (Fig. 9). The knocking-over bar 3l then moves forward, Figs. 10, 11 and 12, to

discharge the loops from the pressed machine.

l4 for pressing. In the production of plain fabric, in which the short bearded frame needles lllb are operative, the needle bar is held in the pressing position so that these needles are pressed immediately after the long bearded needles have been pressed. As the instep'needles are producing ribbed fabric at the same time that the heel needles' are producing plain fabric, in a straight-bar machine of the English type in ries the instep needles flanked by parts which a fixed presser is used it is necessary to have a divided needle bar so that these two different sequences of pressing operations may be effected on the frame needles. Therefore the frame needle bar I! is divided into three parts asis shown in Figure 3:-a part Ila which carllb which carry the heel needles, and means are provided for changing over from one to other of these sequences. On the cam shaft 32 there are two presser camsl5a, l5b co-operating selectively with a truck or cam follower 33 on a depending arm 34 attached to an additional presser shaft 29. This arm is connected through an arm 35 to two arms 36 which depend one from each of the heel portions llb of the needle bar.

It is to be observed that the cam l5a, which is employed when ribbed fabric is to be made on The ma-' the heel needles, has a short lobe 31a which maintains the needle bar in the pressing position only for a sufficient time for the long bearded frame needles llla to be pressed, and another lobe 38 that causes the needle bar subsequently to move forward again to carry the loops on the machine needles II to the landing position thereon at. which time the needles l lb are in the pressing position, while a further lobe l3'l causes the short bearded frame needles lflbto be pressed. 0n the other hand, the cam l5b which is employed when plain fabric is to be made on the heel needles, has a longer lobe 31b which maintains the needle bar in'the pressing position for a period suflicient to ensure that both the long bearded and the short bearded frame needles are pressed (Figs. '1 and 8) another comparatively small lobe 33b functioning to ensure that the loops of thread on the machine needles II are not carried to the landing position before the beards of the needles I lb are pressed. At the commencement of change over from rib to plain fabric the truck 33 is moved'bya control member 39 (controlled by the chain or other control device) from co-operation with the cam l5a to co-operation with the cam l 5b.

When the required amount of plain fabric has been produced on the heels, simultaneously with the production of ribbed fabric in the instep,

the heels are pressed off, but during their production they may be fashioned by fashioning points 28. Thereafter the machine continues to produce a ribbed instep on the instep needles associated with the portion Illa. of the needle bar, but at the termination of the instep portion of the blank it is desirable to make a plain toe. Therefore the machine is again stopped and rib stitches appertaining to the instep are transferred by ,the transfer points 30 to the frame needles as has been described with reference to" the stitches of the heel, and the instep needles are operated to produce plain fabric. For this purpose presser cams Se and H512, similar to v I the cams l5a, i517, are provided on the cam shaft 32, co-ope'rating with a shiftable truck similar to 33 on an arm H34 attached to the ordinary presser shaft I29. This arm is connected by an arm I35 to an arm I36 depending from the base of the central portion Ma of the needle bar.

The toe is shaped in any known or-approved manner and the plain-heel and toe portions may also be spliced or reinforced. At the termination of the toe the fabric may be pressed off, or alternatively knitting may continue on the central group of needles to produce a plain foot bottom. V

The application of the invention to a straightbar machine of the German type will now-be described. A feature of distinction between this type of machine and the English machine is that the frame needle bar does not rock to press the needles, but merely rises and falls and a movable presser bar is therefore provided instead ofafixed presser bar. Hence in the German macliinqaccdrding to this invention this presser bar is divided into three portions and means are provided for imparting movements to it.

The production of rib fabric on this machine is in the main similar to the production on the English machine, it being remembered that instead of the needle bar rocking forwards to press the frame needles the presser bar 40 is moved towards the needles. This distinction, however involves a further modification in the German machine to permit plain fabric to be produced.

At the stage in the production of rib fabric, corresponding to that shown in Fig. 10, the loop there shown as extending over the beard of the machine needle lib would extend under the beard, because a rib stitch is to be produced from it. In the English machine this loop is prevented from being enclosed by the beard of the machine needle, by limiting the forward motion of the frame needles while the machine needles are pressed; in the German machine the machine needles of the heel sections (and of the toe 'section if plain fabric is to be produced-in the toe) are thrown forward a short distance (approximately fith of an inch) at the change over from rib to plain, so that the loops are positioned beyond the tips of the machine needle beards when these beards are pressed beneath the press er 40 after which the loops are cast off. One construction of mechanism by which this forward movement is imparted to the machine needles is illustrated in Figure 15. The leads or other elements 43 in which the machine needles are mounted in the machine needle bar 42 are slidably mounted on that bar, and above the needle bar there is another bar 44' having oblique slots 45 in each of which a pin 48, secured to the adjacent element 43, is positioned. Therefore when the bar 44 is moved endwise over the needle bar 42, as it may be by a lever 41 and a' suitable control operated from the. pattern chain or the like, the machine needles are projected forward bodily. There may be one such device for the heel needles and another for the instep needles. but actually, it is only necessary for the heel needles to be capable of projection as described with reference to Fig. 15. For the change-over to produce a plain toe the whole machine needlebar may be projected, for example by shifting the truck on the lever by which the machine needlebar 42 is operated into engagement with a special cam. This mechanism is not illustrated, for it may in all essentials be similar to that hereinafter described and illustrated for modifying the movements'of the sections of the frame needle-- bar.

As on the English machine,'during the production of rib fabric the short bearded frame needles are not pressed until after the long bearded frame needles and the machine needles have been pressed and therefore the presser bar 4| of the German machine is given three forward movements, firstly for the pressing of long frame needles, secondly while the machine needles are pressed and thirdly for the pressing of short frame needles. In the productionof plain fabric on the German frame, however, two forward motions only are required, the presser barbeing maintained in its first pressing position while the frame needle bar 4| descends so that both the long and short bearded frame needles are pressed at the one operation, and the second motion being as before mentioned, the third forward motion not being required. Therefore instead of dividing the needle bar into three-parts the presser bar 40 is divided into three parts:a central part 40a for the instep needles flanked by parts 401) for the heel needles as shown in Figure 14, so that rib and plain fabric may'be produced simultaneously. These parts are operated by cams on the cam shaft II. The part 44 rocks about ashaft 5i and is provided with a depending arm I52 carrying a truck 83. This truck is movable by a control 44, operated from the pattern chain or the like, into engagement with shaft II. three lobes for effecting the three distinct press- One of these cams is provided with V ing movements required for the production of machine needles. The heel portions 48b of the presser bar rock about a shaft iii and are provided with a depending lever II! carrying a movable truck I53. This truck may be moved by a control I54, operated from the pattern chain or the like into engagement with either of two cams iiia or i551: (similar to the cams a, bi according to whether plain fabric or rib fabric is required.

Therefore in the change-over from rib to plain fabric, be it at the commencement of theheel tabs or at the commencement of the toe, the followingoperations must be performedz-the machine must be stopped; the rib loops transferred by the points ID from the bearded machine needies iib to the corresponding frame needles; the appropriate control, illustrated in Fig. 15, operated to project those machine needles that are to be inoperative and correspond with the group or groups of frame needles on which plain fabric is to be produced; and the appropriate control M or IE4 operated to change radically the motions of the appropriate section or sections of the presser bar 40., Thereafter plain fabric is pro duced substantially as has been described. with reference to Figs. 4-12, with this chief distinction. that instead of the frame needles moving towards the presser it for pressing, the presser 40 moves towards the frame needles.

The transfer bars required for transferring the machine needle stitches of the heels and the machine needle stitches of the instep will, of course, require to have their points distributed and arranged in accordance with the stitches to be transferred; the transfer bar for transferring the machine needle stitches of the heels having its points arranged in two spaced groups, each group appertaining to a heel and the space therebetween coinciding with the instep needles which do not require to be operated upon.

As has -been explained, during the production of plain fabric the long and short bearded frame needles press substantially simultaneously, while in the production of rib fabric the short bearded needles press after the long bearded needles. In order that these different pressing operations maybe effected simultaneously on different sections of the needle-bar, the English machine has been described as having a divided needle-bar and the German machine as having a divided presser bar. If, however, the two kinds of frame needles are movable longitudinally the one in -re-.

both kinds of frame needles may be pressed si-' multaneously in the production of plain fabric.

Any suitable means (for example similar to that described with reference to Fig. 15) may be employed for moving the short bearded frameneedles ilb between the positions shown in Figs.

17 and 18 at the change-over between rib and r either of two cams Ila, or lib onthe said cam plain.- Such movements may be applied to the 15 needle bar during the production of plain fabric,

the short-bearded needles are lowered somewhat to bring them to the relative position shown in- Fig. 18, while when the needle bar descends they are restored to the position shown in Fig. 18.

Relative movement between the two kinds offrame needles may be applied to the English machine (to obviate the necessity for a divided needle bar) or to the German machine (to obviate the necessity for a divided presser bar) but is particularly applicable to the latter. In such an application of this modification, only the short-bearded heel needles are displaceable downwards, and in making plain fabric on the toe needles the whole machine needle-bards moved forwards (as hereinbefore described) while the undivided presser bar is caused to remain forward until all the needles have pressed. For this purpose the truck on the lever operating the presser may be moved into contact with a special cam.

Although the invention has been described by wayof example applied to a machine for making 6/3 rib fabric, it is to be understood that same is applicable to machines for making other rib fabric including l/ 1 rib.

Consequent upon the foregoing description of the invention as applied to a change over from rib to plain fabric, the application of the invention to a change over from plain to rib fabric will present no difliculties to one skilled in the art, the various change over operations being merely reversed.

The invention is applicable both to single unit and to multi-division straight-bar machines.

I claim:

1. A straight bar rib knitting machine having elements movable in relation to the needles in the production of knitted stitches, and means for effecting differing relative movements between said elements and two simultaneouslyknitting groups of needles whereby one group produces rib fabric and the other plain fabric.

2. A straight bar rib knitting machine, having means for rendering inoperative as stitch-forming elements at predetermined times needles of one needle bar, means for transferring to opposed needles of the other bar the stitches previously formed on said inoperative needles,- and means for continuing to knit on the needles of the other bar.

3. A straight-bar rib knitting machine, having.

4. A straight-bar rib knitting machineorgan ized for the production of ribbed blanks for stockings or the like, having means'for knitting a plain heel and a ribbed instep.

5. A machine according to claim l,'having means for knitting the same kind of fabric on both groups simultaneously for a predetermined number of courses and for knitting plain fabric on one and rib fabric on the other group for other courses.

6. A Cottons patent rib knitting machine having two opposed sets of needles, thread-feeding means for feeding thread thereto, and means for causing the needles to knit said thread, in combination with means for causing needles of .one set, during a predetermined number of courses, to cast off the thread fed to them without knitting it, means for causing needles of the other set to knit the thread into plain fabric, and means for causing needles of both sets to knit ribbed fabric at other courses.

'I. A straight-bar rib knitting machine having a division of needles for knitting a selvedged blank, which division comprises two sets of opposed negdles, and'one of which sets includes short bearded needles interspersed with long bearded needles; means for knitting plain fabric on the short and long bearded needles of said one set, means for rendering the short-bearded needles inoperative and for knitting rib fabric on needles of the two sets in co-operation, and means for changing-over at will from one kind of fabric to the other whereby both kinds of fabric are embodied in the same blank.

8. A straight-bar rib knitting machine having a division of needles for knitting a selvedged blank, which division comprises two sets of opposed needles, and one of which sets includes short bearded needles interspersed with long bearded needles, means for knitting rib fabric on long bearded needles of the said one set and needles of the other set, means for rendering the short bearded needles of said one set inoperative as stitch producing elements during the pro-- duction of the rib fabric, means for rendering needles of said other set inoperative as stitch producing elements,'and means for producing plain fabric on the long and short bearded needles of said one set.

9. A machine according to claim 8, having means for adjusting the short .bearded needles lengthwise of the long bearded needles so that they press together in the production of plain nating long and short bearded needles, means for causing a section of said bar to co-operate with needles of the other bar in the production of rib fabric, means for causing the needles of another section thereof to knit plainfabric si-' multaneously therewith, and means for changingover at will on one of said sections between rib and plain fabric, which said change-over means comprises means for imparting differing pressing movements to said section to cause the long and short bearded needles to press simultaneously or separately.

12. A straight-bar rib knitting machine, having a needle bar in which bearded needles alternate with dummies, an opposed needle bar in which long and short bearded needles alternate, the

short bearded needles being opposite the dummies, means for knitting rib fabric on the needles of the first bar and the long bearded needles of the second, which said means includes means for causing the short bearded needles to relinquish their loopswithout knitting them, and. means for changingbver to plain fabric, which changeover means includes means for causing the needles oi. the first bar to relinquish their loops without knitting them and means: for causing the short-bearded needles of the opposed bar to knit with the long-bearded needles.

13. A straight bar rib knitting machine, incorporating means whereby one can at will change from the production of rib fabric to the production of plain (non-rib) fabric. or vice versa, on a group of needles forming a portion only of the division of needles, and having means whereby knitting one of these kinds of fabric on both groups. v

15. A straight bar knitting machine incorporating bearded needles, a sectional needle bar, and means for moving the needle bar to press, having means for knitting either rib or plain fabric, and means for imparting differing pressing motions to at least a section of the needle bar according to whether rib or plain fabric is to be produced.

16. A straight bar knitting machine incorporating bearded needles, a sectional presser bar, and means for moving the presser bar to press the needles, having means for imparting differing pressing motions to at least a section of the presser bar according to whether rib 'or plain fabric is to be produced.

. GEORGE TAYLOR. 

